Always Say Goodbye
by Aly.HProcks
Summary: You never know when something you say may turn into the last thing you ever say to someone. Achievement Hunter/Rooster Teeth Family Mavin Friendship Michael x Lindsay Gavin x Meg


The Achievement Hunter office in Austin Texas can always be described as chaotic and loud. Not to mention on most days there is a high possibility of being impaled by some form of weaponry from the ridiculous armory the guys had received from community members. This particular day was considerably much louder than most though.

It was Gavin's first day back to work after almost a full month in England and after shooting video after video to get as much content as they could everyone's tempers were short. The alcohol flowing for over half the room wasn't helping matters either. The yelling came to a head finally when after a forty minute set up set up and over an hour of recording GTA V Gavin somehow managed to blow up not only himself but Michael, Ryan and Jeremy in a three-way jet crash straight into a Mt. Chiliad.

"GOD FUCKING DAMMIT GAVIN! I HATE YOU! YOU'RE SUCH A FUCKING IDIOT! HOW ARE YOU SO FUCKING STUPID?! YOU ARE SUCH A PIECE OF SHIT, YOU SHOULD STAYED IN ENGLAND YOU WASTE OF FUCKING AIR! UGHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Michael was beat red and out of breath by time he was done yelling. He kicked a box by his desk sending hundreds of bouncy balls flying around the room then was out of the office slamming the door behind him. The tension was thick in the room after Michael's exit and Gavin could tell the rest of the guys were pissed at him too.

Finally after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence Jack said, "I think we should call it a day there". Slowly everyone ended their capture and packed up to go home. Within ten minutes the Achievement Hunter office was empty with the exception of Gavin, who hadn't moved or made a sound since Michael's exit.

None of the guys had said a single word to him, even a goodbye, before leaving. They wouldn't even look at him. Only Lindsay didn't seem to hate him.

After packing up Michael's things she patted Gavin's shoulder on the way out and said, "I'm glad you made it home safely." and like that she was gone too, likely looking for her husband who was surely still angry.

Gavin hadn't meant to screw up, he had just gotten distracted and bumped his jet into Michael's. Unfortunately it caused caused a domino effect taking both Ryan and Jeremy down with them and undoing the last almost two hours of work.

He felt horrible that he had ruined the recording, especially after being gone for so long. The rest of AH had been waiting to record quite a few things until he got back so he could be included as well and if he was honest with himself he had messed up at least half the videos today, not just GTA. Between recording issues and poor game play it had been a truly horrible day.

He would have to apologize tomorrow after everyone has had time to cool down. With that decided he ordered an Uber to take him home, he was beyond ready to just have a quiet night in with Girl. He hadn't seen her in person in almost a month and could use her company after a day like today.

He was halfway home when a bright light came through the window then everything went black.

* * *

The clock had just passed midnight when Michael's phone started ringing. Michael was in the shower but Lindsay saw it was Meg so she didn't hesitate to to answer.

"Hey. What's up?"

It only took a moment for Lindsay to realize something was wrong. Meg sounded like she was crying and on the verge of having a complete breakdown.

"Meg? What's wrong?"

"I need you and Michael to come to the hospital. Gavin was in an accident and they just rushed him into surgery. I-it doesn't look good. Please."

Lindsay didn't hesitate. "We'll be right there."

She quickly threw on some pants and ran to the bathroom where Michael was exiting the shower. She could tell he was about to comment about her joining him next time but upon seeing her face he froze.

"Get dressed. Gavin was in an accident and going into surgery. I don't know more. "

She tossed some clean clothing on the counter for him then was gone to call someone to watch their daughter. Michael's mind was frozen but his body seemed to be on auto-pilot. He had been so angry at Gavin and yelled at him last time he had seen him. As much as Gavin annoyed the crap out of him he was also his best friend. He was the other half of team nice dynamite.

Michael was dressed and grabbing his phone and keys before he could even process himself moving. He nodded at the sitter rocking his daughter back to sleep before feeling Lindsay remove the keys from his shaking hand. He locked eyes with her but before he could say a word she gave him a look full of love and compassion that he knew she saved just for him before softly saying, "Please let me drive." Michael leaned forward and lightly kissed her cheek before nodding.

Turns out that it was a good thing she drove. Michael didn't remember a second of the drive, the only thing that kept him sane was the firm pressure of Lindsay's hand in his. Walking in to the hospital it felt his feet had turned into lead but Lindsay took control and got them to where they needed to be. Finally Michael's eyes found something to focus on. Meg.

Meg had her face in her hands and her shoulders were shaking with obvious sobs. Michael found himself on his knees in front of her and the moment she heard him whisper her name she was in his arms, on the floor and crying into his shoulder. Michael felt tears fall down his face and into her messy purple hair as hers soaked into his shirt.

Lindsay managed to make eye contact with Michael and mouth "I'm calling Geoff" then walk further down the hallway for some privacy. After a few minutes Meg had calmed enough to reclaim her chair with Michael taking the one next to her without ever letting go of her hand. Michael needed to know what happened but his voice seemed to be broken. After a few deep breaths he asked the first question he could think of, "What happened?".

It took a bit of time but eventually in a broken voice Meg was able to explain how this nightmare came to be. "He was on his way home and a drunk driver ran a red light. I-it slammed right into him. They rushed him into surgery but one of the nurses said he stopped breathing. Between that and the trauma from the crash they are worried about possible br-brain damage." After that she dissolved back into sobs.

Michael was in shock. How could this happen? Gavin is so innocent and carefree, it's almost child-like. Oh god, and the last thing he did was yell at him and throw a tantrum like a fucking child. Now his best friend was...no. He needed to stop that train of thought right there and be strong for Gavin.

A sudden soft hand touching the back of his neck caused him to jump. Lindsay had come back without him noticing her approaching. She sat down on his other side and spoke softly while holding the hand Meg wasn't gripping like a lifeline. "He should be out of surgery soon then they are moving him to the ICU wing for recovery."

At the word recovery both Michael and Meg turned equally hopeful eyes on her but she couldn't quit return the look. "He isn't out of the woods yet. They got him through the immediate danger but he had a pretty substantial head wound along with broken ribs, broken arm, multiple lacerations from the glass and quite a few bumps and bruises. He is in a coma and they don't know when he may wake up or how he might be once he does."

It broke Lindsay's heart to tear up the small spark of hope they had in their eyes but they both needed the truth. Lindsay couldn't be more thankful that one of the nurses they had befriended over the years through Extra Life had been on duty and recognized Gavin when he came in. She had gotten a hold of Meg, otherwise...god, she didn't even want to think about it. Shaking away the bad thought she continued on.

"I got a hold of Geoff. He should be here soon and he promised to take care of calling everyone else. We did both agree that we shouldn't have all of Rooster Teeth here but I'm sure most of Achievement Hunter will be here shortly. For now we all just have to stay hopeful and strong. Meg, no matter what you need we're all here for you. We're family." Meg nodded and stood to hug Lindsay pulling Michael with her.

After that the waiting room slowly filled with the other members of Achievement Hunter. Geoff held Meg for at least half an hour just whispering to her while Ryan, Jack, Caiti, Jeremy and Kat sat with Michael and Lindsay. Alfredo and Trevor were getting coffee for the group while informing the people who weren't there of Gavin's condition and stopping them from coming down until the next day. It took quite a bit of convincing.

Another half hour passed before the tension in the room broke when a doctor came in and said Gavin's name.

Hours had passed and Michael found himself sitting alone in Gavin's recovery room. Lindsay was calling their sitter and Meg was using the restroom. The rest of their work family had just left after promising to be back after getting some rest. The clock was approaching six in the morning so needless to say none of them were going to work today.

The doctors had for the most part repeated what Lindsay had said about Gavin's condition but they had been somewhat optimistic about him waking up. As to what kind of damage was done to his brain, that they weren't as optimistic about. For now it was all about time, hope and patience.

Patience, that was one of the virtues Michael just didn't have. This was the first time Michael had been alone with Gavin since storming out the day before yet it felt like years had passed since then.

Gavin looked horrible. They had shaved part of his head to do surgery so there was a large bandage around his skull. He would be so mingy if he could see the state of his hair. The right side of his face was covered in scratches but the doctors seemed confident that they were superficial and none would heal. Somehow his nose had been completely untouched...how is that even possible? It's his most prominent feature.

The cast on his right arm went from shoulder to fingers but they were told that it should heal fine as well.

Michael was still sitting in silence trying to figure out what to say when Meg came back in. She gave him a small smile before sitting next to him and continuing to watch her boyfriend breathe.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Meg seemed to remember something. "I almost forgot. I saw Lindsay on my was back, she said she was thinking about heading home soon to check on Iris. We weren't sure if you wanted to stay or come back in the morning", she had to pause for a moment at the word morning, "or well I guess this afternoon."

He thought on it for a couple beats but knew his answer pretty quickly. "I should go with her. I'll be back soon, call me if anything changes" She nodded and grasped Gavin's hand, returning her full attention to her boyfriend. It broke something inside Michael to leave but his wife and daughter needed him. If he was honest with himself he wanted to just hold Iris and remember there are still good things left in the world. He couldn't think of anything to say to his best friend anyways so he was useless here.

* * *

Five days had passed since the accident and there hadn't been any change in Gavin's condition.

In fact the doctors told Meg they hadn't registered any substantial brain function at all. He was breathing on his own but otherwise there had been no sign of improvement at all.

The Rooster Teeth family was in and out all day everyday with Dan there most of everyday since flying in the day after the accident. Their days revolved around the hospital and Gavin but for the rest of the world life continued.

Meg and Michael were constant fixtures in Gavin's room, one of them always there watching for any sign of improvement. Meg would talk to him and tell him funny stories about what trouble their cats got up to that day or anything else that came to mind. Michael would just sit quietly and watch him breathe. He hadn't known what to say but had been thinking about it for days now.

Movement caught his eye, Meg was gathering her bag and kissing Gavin's uninjured cheek. She turned to Michael and said, "I'm heading home for a few hours. Want me to bring you anything?" He shook his head and she was gone.

Michael had never been great at expressing emotions other than anger but being with Lindsay had forced him to be more open. Michael sat in Meg's abandoned chair and grasped Gavin's hand. He took a deep breath and decided to just stop thinking so much and just babble.

"Hey Gav. You need to wake up dude. It's not the same without you and Meg is going out of her mind. It'...well *sigh* It's not just Meg. I'm so sorry Gav. I was such a brat last time I saw you and I didn't even say goodbye before leaving. Instead I just lost my temper again. I yelled at you, called you names, told you that I hated you...I'm so sorry Gav. I don't hate you, you're my best friend and I need you back. I don't know what I would do without you and I need you to wake up.

Please Gav, I love you dude and I swear if you die I'll never forgive you."

There was a heavy silence in the room until Michael heard a quiet, high pitched voice.

"Mi-coo?"


End file.
